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Ar-Pharazôn
Ar-Pharazôn, also known as Ar-Pharazôn the Golden, was the twenty-fifth and last King of Númenor. Of all the Kings of Númenor, he wielded the most power, but used it most unwisely; his desire for eternal life caused the destruction of Númenor and the Change of the World. Biography Ar-Pharazôn was the son of Gimilkhâd, the leader of the King's Men during the reign of Tar-Palantir of Númenor. Ar-Pharazôn grew into a Man of great strength, stature, and will, not unlike the ancient heroes of the Edain. In these earlier days, he was good friends with Amandil, the future Lord of Andúnië and his line of people. However, he was his father's child and thus was instructed in the ways of the King's Men. Ar-Pharazôn became a man of great pride and aquired a hunger for wealth and glory. He grew restless in his homeland and was often abroad leading like-minded Númenóreans in the wars against the men of Middle-earth. In this he fared well on both land and sea for he won great wealth, and gained great respect as a captain. When he finally returned home, the people rejoiced in him and he was very popular and generous with the wealth and fortunes he won in Middle-earth. Upon the death of his uncle, Tar-Palantir, who had no son, Ar-Pharazôn decided to wed his daughter, Míriel, which was against her will. As Tar-Míriel was the rightful Ruling Queen of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn was able to usurp the throne. He gave to his wife the name Ar-Zimraphel, refusing to use the Elven speech, whilst persecuting the last vestiges of the Faithful. As time passed, it came to his attention that Sauron, the Lord of Mordor, was expanding his power throughout Middle-earth and was being called the Lord of Men. Ar-Pharazôn, ever prideful, resolved to challenge him lordship of the earth. In SA 3261, he marched upon Mordor with an army so powerful that Sauron's forces simply deserted him. But Sauron was cunning, and he feigned to be overawed at Ar-Pharazôn's might. The Númenorean king did not trust Sauron, and brought him back to Númenor as a hostage. However, Sauron quickly took advantage of his situation to gain Ar-Pharazôn's trust, and by way of careful flattery, lies and half-truths, he soon became the king's closest and most trusted advisor. He was able to corrupt Ar-Pharazôn, convincing him to worship Morgoth in the hope that he would be able to cheat mortality. Some of the results of Sauron's cunning were the erecting of a Great Temple to Morgoth, intense persecution of the Faithful, and the chopping down of the White Tree of Númenor. Soon the king and his followers were worshiping Morgoth openly and burning innocents at the altar of the temple as sacrificial offerings to appease the false god. Then, as Ar-Pharazôn felt the bite of old age upon him, Sauron was able to convince him to attack Valinor and claim the right to immortality by force. He began the building of a huge fleet, the Great Armament, to attack Valinor in SA 3310 and finally broke the Ban of the Valar, landing on the shores of the Undying Lands in SA 3319. The Valar then laid down their guardianship of the world and called upon Eru, the One. He sank Ar-Pharazôn's fleet and all of Númenor beneath the ocean, changing the shape of the world. Valinor was no longer connected to Middle-earth, and mortals could no longer find it. Afterwards, only elves and a few remarkable exceptions could reach it following the Straight Road into the far west. Ar-Pharazôn and his mighty host who landed on Aman were buried by mounds of dirt and remain in the Caves of the Forgotten until the last battle, or Dagor Dagorath. He and his great army's role in the end of days has not been made clear. Legacy and successors Ar-Pharazôn's tyrannical rule and rebellious resolve to break the Ban of the Valar and make war upon the west led to the end of the royal Númenórean line. Instead, the line of Elros was continued from the long line of the Lords of Andúnië. As Amandil of Andúnië did not return from his venture into the west, his son Elendil became the successor of a new kingdom that would rule from Middle-earth in exile. His two surviving sons, Isildur and Anárion followed him into exile and would in turn become his successors as well. Ar-Pharazôn was remembered by the surviving Númenorean lineage with a sort of grudging respect. Despite his errors, he was the first and last Human capable to beat and humiliate the powerful dark lord Sauron by himself. In remembrance to this feat, in Umbar was erected a monument to the Golden King of Númenor: a dark crystal globe, on a tall white column, which absorbed sunrays and glimmered in the night for everyone to see. The monument was destroyed when Umbar corsairs swore allegiance to Sauron.The Silmarillion, Akallabêth (The Downfall of Númenor)Unfinished Tales, Part Two: The Second Age, III: "The Line of Elros: The Kings of Númenor", from the founding of the City of Armenelos to the Downfall''The History of Middle-earth,'' Vol. 12: The Peoples of Middle-earth, V: "The History of the Akallabeth"The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Second Age, "Voyages of the Númenóreans" Etymology His chosen royal name of Pharazôn which means "Golden" was in Adûnaic; his name in Quenya was Tar-Calion with Calion meaning "Son of Light". Portrayal in adaptations ]] In flashback scenes featured in the video game Middle-earth: Shadow of War, a Númenórean king named Suladân besieged Sauron's fortress, Sauron surrendered and offered Suladân one of the nine rings of power. Suladân accepted and due to the ring's influence slowly became corrupted by it, making Sauron his most trusted advisor before becoming fully corrupted and turning into one of the Nazgûl. It is likely that Suladân was based on Ar-Pharazôn, the last king of Númenor who took Sauron captive in canon, with "Suladân" being King Ar-Pharazôn's birth name as opposed to his ruling name. Translations References es:Ar-Pharazôn de:Ar-Pharazôn it:Ar-Pharazôn pl:Ar-Pharazôn ru:Ар-Фаразон Category:Adûnaic words Category:Numenoreans Category:Villains Category:Númenórean Kings Category:Servants of Sauron Category:The Silmarillion Characters Category:Characters in Unfinished Tales Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth